Homeowner sets up explosive device to ward off package thief

By KTAR.com | December 7, 2017 at 4:34 pmUPDATED: December 8, 2017 at 9:08 am

What do you do if someone is going around your neighborhood in the middle of the night, stealing packages straight from your front porch?

If you’re this person, you decide to fight back.

A video posted on YouTube this week did not seem too out of the ordinary: It simply showed security camera footage of a typical home in Tacoma, Washington, on a typical neighborhood street on a typical night.

All the sudden, a hooded figure comes into view — and hops the home’s fence.

There was one thing this person had their eye on: A stack of packages on the home’s front porch.

The figure starts grabbing at the packages in an attempt to pick them up, but they start to have some trouble. The person inspects the packages some more, but something seems off.

Suddenly, one of the packages blasts open and sets off a firecracker-like explosion. The person jumps back and runs away — leaving the packages behind.

In the video’s description, a statement left by the unidentified homeowner explained why they decided to pull this prank.

“Package theft has become an epidemic, and I was tired of watching my packages being stolen,” they said. “I made a safe and effective device to deliver a loud reminder to leave my packages alone. Hopefully it will make them pick up a different line of work.”